Moral Panic Exam

Anatomy of Conspiracy Theories

The structure and logic behind conspiracy thinking: it assumes nothing happens by accident, everything is connected, and powerful hidden actors are secretly controlling events. It often focuses on doubt, anomalies, and rejecting official explanations rather than providing solid evidence. Ex: 9/11 was an inside job

Secret Societies

Groups (real or imagined) believed to operate with hidden knowledge, rituals, or influence, often thought in conspiracy theories to secretly control politics or society (e.g. freemasons, illuminati)

Conspiracism and antisemitism

The overlap between conspiracy thinking and anti-Jewish beliefs where Jews are falsely portrayed as a hidden group controlling world events. These ideas drag on long-standing antisemitic myths and fabricated “evidence.” Fuelled real-world violence and persecution, including the Holocaust

JFK Assassination

The 1963 killing of John F. Kennedy that sparked widespread conspiracy theories due to uncertainty, lack of clear motive, and proportionality bias (belief that a major event must have a large, complex cause rather than a lone actor). Occurred in Dallas, Texas, deepened distrust in government and normalized modern conspiracy culture

Tichborne Claimant

A 19th-century case where a man falsely claimed to be a missing heir to a fortune, leading to massive public debate. Claimed to be Arthur Tichborne, but was significantly larger and could not keep up with the lies he told. It shows how people can believe in conspiracy theories or false identities despite showing strong contradictory evidence.

McCarthyism and Cultural Cold War

A period in the early Cold War where fear of communism led to accusations, investigations, and paranoia about “enemies within.” It extended into culture (film, education, health), shaping beliefs through fear-driven narratives. Ex: Hays Code, fear of communist infiltration. Occurred in late 1940s-50s

Moral Panics about youth

Widespread societal fear that young people’s behaviour (music, media, fashion) threatens social values. Belief in delinquency. These panics are often exaggerated by media and lead to public outrage and control measures, even if the threat is overstated. Ex: fears of video games causing violence, leads to censorship and stereotypes about young people. 19th century Dime novels blamed for causing crime among working-class youth, even though there was little real evidence.

UFOlogy

The study or belief in unidentified flying objects, often linked to extraterrestrials. It reflects how people try to explain unknown phenomena, sometimes leading to conspiracy beliefs about government cover-ups.

Vaccines and anti-vaxxers

Resistance to vaccines based on fear, misinformation, or distrust of science/government. Conspiracies often claim vaccines are harmful or part of a hidden agenda, despite scientific evidence showing their beliefs. Ex: Vaccines cause autism, however there is no correlation (ex of Correlation as causation)

Catastrophic millenialism

The belief that the world is heading toward imminent, dramatic, and often apocalyptic transformation, usually caused by hidden forces or divine intervention. Ex: Jonestown, Heaven’s Gate, Aum Cult killing members or themselves believing they will transcend.

Super Conspiracies

Large, all-encompassing conspiracy theories that combine multiple smaller conspiracies into one unified explanation, suggesting a single powerful force controls global events, governments, and society over time. Ex: New World Order theory, groups like illuminati, elites, or aliens are working together to create a global government- blends ideas about surveillance, mind control, secret organizations, and movements like QAnon into one conspiracy. Pedo elites, pizzagate